Looking for some green, earth friendly gifts for the women in your life, check out these great ideas.

Sterling Silver Stackable Rings: The artisans who hand make these sterling silver rings are paid fairly in the local context and are pre-paid 50% up front so they don’t need to use their own resources to purchase raw materials.

Organica’s Weekend Scarf: Hand-woven and made by women artisans using 100% non-violent, natural silk. The purchase of beautiful Tasar silk (indigenous to India) has far reaching impact on the environment and on livelihoods of the rural poor.

Bamboo 5 Piece Brush Set: This earth-friendly brush set is packed with the 4 high-quality brushes and, it shows respect for the planet. Bamboo handles, Synthetic taklon bristles that are 100% cruelty free, Sleek ferrule made from recycled aluminum and the cosmetic case is made from natural cotton and hemp.

Shake and Shine Flashlight – Handy little no-battery emergency flashlight is extremely bright and reliable. It never needs batteries and generates power by converting mechanical energy (shaking) into electrical energy to power the light.

I was at a birthday party last night and one of the gifts given to the birthday boy was a Green Art set. I thought how great that was, the consuming part of it maybe not so great but the fact that the art supplies were non-toxic, kid safe and environmentally friendly makes it a great gift for children.

From Art Supplies to Stuffed Animals and Blocks. You can find a plethora of Eco-friendly children’s gifts in this list, they haven’t missed a think. Check it out for yourself and you are sure to find what you need.

The Organic Wine Company Monthly Wine Club – Each month, they will send you a selection of 3 wines from our collection. New vintages or interesting, but rare wines will be offered in priority to expand your horizons!

Green Your Kitchen – Includes everything you need to green your kitchen and replace those non green items that you have been keeping around.

Bamboo Salad Bowls – 100% organically-grown bamboo, non-toxic adhesive, natural food-safe wood oil. These bowls are made from vertical-grain bamboo, which makes them not only beautiful, but also extremely durable. They do not impart or absorb flavors.

Reuse wrapping paper when at all possible from previous holidays and birthdays.

Recycle the wrapping paper that can be recycled, by folding and putting into your recycle bin. Some wrapping paper cannot be recycled, be aware of what to look for.

Buy wrapping paper that has been made specifically from recycled content, that way it will be recyclable or compostable.

Buy wrapping paper from your local thrift store.

Make your own wrapping paper.

Christmas Cards:

Go paperless. Send a Christmas email and save some trees. You can even explain in the email why you are going paperless this year.

Recycle cards from last year to use on your cards this year.

When the holiday season is over, put the Christmas cards that can be recycled in the recycle bin or save for next year.

You can also have the kids make crafts out of the old cards, such as place mats, or art for the wall, just add a frame.

You can also recycle calendars or children’s artwork to use as Christmas cards.

Gifts:

Buy items that have been recycled or re-purposed into something different.

Make your own gifts from old clothes, or items around the house that you don’t use.

Re-gifting is OK. “There is much discussion about etiquette behind the trend to re-gift, that is, to pass on a gift you received but do not need. What’s to discuss? Re-gifting makes perfect sense. If you receive something you really don’t need, look for ways you can reuse this gift by passing it on to someone who can use it. Of course, re-gifting needs to be done with care so as not to offend the original giver, but keeping a gift you don’t need is wasteful.” From eartheasy.com

The Story of Cap & Trade is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill. Host Annie Leonard introduces the energy traders and Wall Street financiers at the heart of this scheme and reveals the “devils in the details” in current cap and trade proposals: free permits to big polluters, fake offsets and distraction from what’s really required to tackle the climate crisis.

Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home is a feature documentary about how the family household has become one of the most ferocious environmental predators of our time.

Concerned for the future of his new baby boy Sebastian, writer and director Andrew Nisker takes an average urban family, the McDonalds, and asks them to keep every scrap of garbage that they create for three months. He then takes them on a journey to find out where it all goes and what it’s doing to the world.

From organic waste to the stuff they flush down the potty, the plastic bags they use to the water they drink out of bottles, the air pollution they create when transporting the kids around, to using lights at Christmas, the McDonalds discover that for every action there is a reaction that affects them and the entire planet.

Everyday life under a microscope has never been so revealing. By the end of this trashy odyssey, you are truly inspired to revolutionaize your lifestyle for the sake of future generations.

Click here to view the first 20 minutes of the movie for free. Playing at theaters all over, check your local listings for details and closest theaters.

Most cities now have made it possible for people living in multi-family communities to recycle and reduce waste. With mixed recycling collection for plastic, metal, and paper materials being available to multifamily communities.

What is considered a multi-family community?

Apartment Complexes

Retirement Living

RV Parks

Mobile Home Parks

Condominiums

Townhouses

Any property with a minimum of five housing units

Multi-Family Recycling Programs can help by providing free education and outreach resources to get your recycling program started.

On-site collection of glass and yard debris might be available in your area also. Ask your collection service provider about these additional service options.

For more information google Multifamily Community Recycle Programs along with the name of the county you live in. And you will find the information you need to get your multifamily community on the recycling band wagon.

U.S. residents throw away more waste per person than those in any other nation. Between Thanksgiving and New years Day alone, Americans produce an extra one million tons of trash per week compared to any other time of the year.

Be creative when it comes to sending out Christmas cards. Emailing is much more Eco-friendly but giving a card is so much more festive to . If you are going to send out card, try reusing old cards and cutting them apart to make your own. You can make your own envelopes out of old paper, maps and the like. Have fun and let the kids join in.

When wrapping gifts, use left over wrapping paper from last year (I save wrapping paper from holidays and birthdays if they are in good shape so I can reuse it). You can make your own bows from newspaper or magazines, also you can use cut up old clothes to wrap gifts also.

As far as gifts go – stop generating waste by giving concert tickets, museum tickets, movie tickets or gift cards for things you need like grocery stores. The gift of time is a great one too. Offer to babysit for families with kids or offer to help with yard work for the older recipients.

Forget about using disposable party-ware. If you are having a potluck and don’t have enough dishes for each person then have each family bring their own along with their own silverware.

Ornaments and Decorations. If you need new ornaments, try your hand at making your own, the Internet is full of easy-to-make, DIY ideas. Using what you already have is the best way to generate less waste. If you must buy more, check your local thrift stores, they usually have a bunch of Christmas decor and ornaments that people have just got rid of.